S42.426A vs S42.426K

S42.426A (Nondisplaced comminuted supracondylar fracture without intercondylar fracture of unspecified humerus, initial encounter for closed fracture) compared with S42.426K (Nondisplaced comminuted supracondylar fracture without intercondylar fracture of unspecified humerus, subsequent encounter for fracture with nonunion), from the official CMS tabular data. S42.426A and S42.426K code the same injury at a different phase of treatment. MedCoder-derived

Relationship

Review

Encounter relationship

S42.426A

Initial encounter

Nondisplaced comminuted supracondylar fracture without intercondylar fracture of unspecified humerus, initial encounter for closed fracture

↔

S42.426K

Subsequent encounter

Nondisplaced comminuted supracondylar fracture without intercondylar fracture of unspecified humerus, subsequent encounter for fracture with nonunion

Same underlying diagnosis, different encounter phase.

The 7th character records the phase of care for the encounter being coded, so a single encounter takes one of these characters, not several. Review whether both phases belong on the same episode of care.

Source: ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.C.19.a

Can these codes be reported together?

Same injury, other encounter phase. S42.426A and S42.426K code the same injury at a different phase of treatment, set by the 7th character.

The 7th character records the type of care given at the encounter being coded (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.C.19.a), so one encounter takes one of these, not both.

Side by side

	S42.426ANondisplaced comminuted supracondylar fracture without intercondylar fracture of unspecified humerus, initial encounter for closed fracture	S42.426KNondisplaced comminuted supracondylar fracture without intercondylar fracture of unspecified humerus, subsequent encounter for fracture with nonunion
Billing status	Billable	Billable
Classification	S00-T88 — Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes	S00-T88 — Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
Definition	Nondisplaced comminuted supracondylar fracture without intercondylar fracture of unspecified humerus, initial encounter for closed fracture is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S42.426A).	Nondisplaced comminuted supracondylar fracture without intercondylar fracture of unspecified humerus, subsequent encounter for fracture with nonunion is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S42.426K).
7th character	The appropriate 7th character is to be added to all codes from category S42	The appropriate 7th character is to be added to all codes from category S42
Includes	injuries of axilla injuries of scapular region	injuries of axilla injuries of scapular region

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Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources